Community and Regional Planning

Facilities for the study of community and regional planning are centrally located on campus in three adjacent and historically significant buildings: Battle Hall (1911), Sutton Hall (1918, renovated in 1982), and Goldsmith Hall (1933, expanded and renovated in 1988). The Architecture and Planning Library and the Wasserman Public Affairs Library provide excellent resources for study and research in community and regional planning. Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the program also makes use of a wide range of resources available through the Bureau of Business Research, the School of Social Work, the Center for Transportation Research, the Population Research Center, the Center for Research in Water Resources, the Bureau of Economic Geology, and the Urban Issues Program. The program's computer laboratory provides microcomputers and peripherals, computer simulation and graphics workstations, geographic information workstations, high-quality photographic and graphic production facilities, and several connections to Academic Computing.

The program has a strong tradition of learning through service to the community, the region, the state, and the nation. A number of community planning projects and studies are produced through the program's Collaborative Planning and Design Laboratory. Learning-through-service is also accomplished through the internship program administered by the Career Placement Office. The program draws on the resources of several state, regional, and local planning agencies; research efforts are conducted in conjunction with the Texas Water Development Board; the state Departments of Housing and Community Affairs, Human Services, Parks and Wildlife, and Transportation; the Capital Area Planning Council; the National Parks Service; and the Planning, Environmental, and Conservation Services Department of the City of Austin.

In conjunction with completion of the core portion of the curriculum, students may choose to specialize in a field within urban planning. An official specialization requires completion of a minimum of four elective courses plus a thesis or professional report within the chosen field. Areas of specialization include environment and natural resources, housing, land use and land development, economic and community development, transportation, and historic preservation (through cross-listed architecture courses). Selection of an official field of specialization is not a requirement of the degree program; students may choose a generalist approach to elective courses. Students tailor the choice of elective courses to their personal interests.

There are no specific course prerequisites for admission to the master's degree program. However, facility in basic computer skills (using spreadsheets and word processing) is assumed. Some entering students find introductory courses in statistics and microeconomics to be helpful, although such courses are not formal prerequisites.

To be admitted to the doctoral program, an applicant must have a master's degree in community and regional planning or a related field, must have adequate preparation in the subject matter of the program, and must demonstrate competence in quantitative methods and planning theory.

To be admitted to any of the joint degree programs, the applicant must be admitted to each of the individual participating programs.

For more information about admission to the master's or doctoral degree program or to any of the joint degree programs, consult the graduate adviser in care of the program.

Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning

Each student must complete forty-eight semester hours of coursework, including introductory courses on the planning process, quantitative methods, planning law, urban and regional theory, and finance of public services. The student may then choose an area of specialization; for most specializations, at least four courses are required. During the final year, the student synthesizes his or her educational experience either in a thesis or in an internship with a professional report. With the assistance of the graduate adviser, each student develops an individual program based on his or her interests; each program must include at least thirty semester hours in community and regional planning or acceptable substitutes.

Doctor of Philosophy

The doctoral degree requires fifty-one semester hours of work, including graduate coursework and directed research and the dissertation. Each student must choose an inside field of concentration in planning from community planning and development (environmental, land use and development, and public services planning) and regional planning (regional development and urban economic development planning). The inside field is supplemented by advanced work in an outside field; a variety of supporting (outside) fields are available through other University programs. Depth and breadth of experience in planning theory and research methods are required of all doctoral students.

After completing the required coursework, the student advances to candidacy according to procedures set by the Graduate Studies Committee. Advancement to candidacy involves an evaluation of the student's research proposal and a comprehensive written examination covering the inside field and the student's coursework. A faculty committee reviews the student's program of coursework and research proposal, evaluates the research in progress, and reads the dissertation.

The School of Architecture has approval to offer the joint degree programs described below. Further information about these programs is available from the graduate adviser in each of the participating areas.

A student seeking admission to a joint degree program must apply through the Graduate and International Admissions Center. He or she must be accepted by each individual program in order to be admitted to the joint program. Like all other graduate applicants, the student is responsible for submitting any additional information required by the Graduate Studies Committee for each program.

Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning/Master of Arts with a Major in Latin American Studies

Together with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, the community and regional planning program offers a joint degree program structured so that a student may earn a Master of Arts with a major in Latin American studies and a Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning in three academic years. A minimum of sixty-six semester hours of graduate coursework is required to complete both degrees.

Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning/Doctor of Jurisprudence

Together with the School of Law, the community and regional planning program offers a joint degree program structured so that a student may earn the Doctor of Jurisprudence and the Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning through a 116-semester-hour curriculum. The curriculum allows the student to complete both degrees within four years of study.

Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning/Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in Geography

The community and regional planning program and the Department of Geography offer a program that leads to the Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning and then to the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in geography. This program is designed for students who are interested in the theoretical intersections between the fields of geography and urban planning. Students interested primarily in one field or the other should apply to the appropriate individual degree program rather than to this joint program.